Hong Xiuquan and his harem beauties
During the siege of Tianjing in the second year of Tongzhi, Hong Xiuquan was obsessed with the luxury of the harem and the dream of his heavenly father. More than a hundred beauties were trapped within the walls of the vermilion palace: the female officials served them with poisonous decoctions, the former female generals hid tree barks to satisfy their hunger, and the newly-entered girls picked plums in the snow to take advantage of the occasion. The sound of artillery fire outside the city is getting louder, but the sound of "Poems of Heavenly Father" in the palace is still lingering. These women are either struggling to survive or holding on to their faith, but Hong Xiuquan still clings to the residual dream until the kingdom of heaven collapses in the incense of powder and gunpowder smoke.
